Captured (Again)
by AceProfessor2559
Summary: After Loki and Fenrir's fall, Loki's stuck between a rock and a hard place. Risk his son, or risk himself? When Loki comes to Earth, he wasn't quite expecting this. Sequel to Freed. Second in the 'Freed-Verse'
1. Pirate-Man and the Glowing Cube

Loki didn't want to follow the orders of this madman. He didn't want the spear they gave him, with the power to control people. But he knew, in his heart, that he must. They had his son. If Loki did not do what those people asked, if he did not lay siege to Midgard, his son would die (or worse). And Loki would not ever let that happen. All his other children were safe (if still trapped).

Loki had come through the portal, and saw mortals surrounding him with their weapons. One of them asked him to put down the spear. Instead, he did his job, and attacked. One of them stood up after the assault.

When Loki saw the man, he realized something. "You have heart." He pushed the tip of his spear against the man's chest, and his minion put down his gun.

After Loki had turned a few others, he saw a man attempt to escape with the Tesseract. "Please don't. I still need that."

The man with the eyepatch - Loki was calling him Pirate-Man in his head - spoke. "This doesn't have to get any messier."

"Of course it does. I've come too far for anything else. I am Loki, of Asgard, and I am burdened with a glorious purpose." The very words he spoke sounded bad, acidic, _wrong_. It sickened him to even have to say it.

"Loki, brother of Thor!" One scientist spoke up. Loki immediately hated that scientist.

Pirate-Man tried to pacify him. "We have no quarrel with your people."

Loki scoffed. "An ant has no quarrel with a boot."

"Are you planning on stepping on us?" The Pirate-Man had confusion in his one eye.

Loki converted the scientist who knew of him when his first minion, Barton, spoke to him. "Sir, Director Fury is stalling. This place is about to blow and drop a hundred feet of rock on us. He means to bury us."

One of Loki's scientists called out his own findings. "He's right, the portal's collapsing in on itself. We've got maybe two minutes before this goes critical."

Loki gave the command to Barton, who shot Pirate-Man. When they left, Barton grabbed the Tesseract.

Their next move was to steal vehicles, which ended in them being chased by a fierce woman agent. Both Loki's group and the agent Barton mentally identified as Hill were hurrying to get out of the underground tunnels before they collapsed. Suddenly, there was the rumbling of the complex collapsing, and Loki felt Barton speed up. Suddenly Pirate-Man (Barton communicated to him the man's name was Fury, but that wasn't nearly as fun) lowered in a helicopter, shooting at them. Seriously? Couldn't Loki just steal an incredibly powerful artifact from a secret agency without being shot at? These mortals had no idea what was at stake.

Suddenly, Loki heard Barton's thoughts drifting through the connection. _'What's so important? What's at stake?'_

Loki sighed to himself before responding to the agent. _'If I do not bring the Tesseract to my… employer, and do not cause a distraction… My son. He'll be further tortured, possibly killed.'_ Loki could practically feel the other man's surprise. _'My son has already been through so much at the hands of Odin, I could not stand him being hurt further.'_ Loki sent everything he knew to Barton, who had already become his second-in-command.

Another shot rang out, reminding him of Pirate-Man and his helicopter. Loki sent a blast of magic in that direction, and the vehicle crashed. Dread Pirate Fury was already up again and shooting, but the crash had sent him out of range.


	2. Quick Update - Short hiatus, in Serbia

I need to deeply apologize to anyone who has enjoyed reading my stories (And oh my god, that's so unbelievable!) but I had high hopes for consistant updating of Captured (Again). I am currently on a vaction visiting my family in Sokovia Serbia. But the computer is being a little bitch right now, so even though I've got the next few chapters written I'm unable to upload them. It'll probably be another week and a half, but it might be less. One good thing is that I've upped my Serbian vocabulary from "basic greetings", "randoms foods", and "some more weird things" to "more extensive pleasantries", "most foods", and "some animals". I have been tring to learn this language my whole life. Shows you my skills at language learning. Anyway! I have the rest of this fic mostly planned, and some plans for the next few. I am also a terrible author so therefore I have started writing the next one already. When your stories start to get in your dreams, you become a bit of a slave to the will of the Muses. And mine are evil.

Anyways, thanks for reading this blurb.

~Ace


	3. Wannabe Heroes VS Concerned Father

After they escaped from the base belonging to SHIELD and their small group had set up base, Loki turned to Barton. "Now I have to play an insane and power hungry psychopath. Barton, you are in charge while I'm gone. If I need anything, I will send a psychic message."

Barton turned his bright blue eyes towards Loki. "Boss, what do you mean 'play at it'?"

Loki snorted. "If I wanted to take over this world, I would slowly control important members of society over many years. Eventually the world's governments would be looking to me for everything. Humanity would have no chance. I am much more long lived than mortals, so I could prepare for nearly an eternity."

"Well Boss, I'm gonna go ahead and say that sounds goddamn terrifying."

Loki was in Stuttgart, Germany, at some high-society event. He calmly strode down the stairs of the building, glancing around at the opulent walls. Suddenly, Loki attacked one man as a distraction, before sending Barton the image of another's eye. Barton apparently needed it to break in and gather some rare material. The crowds of mortals panicked, fleeing like the beasts they were. He strode out the door, with his armor fully materialized. The crowds of people screamed, and he sent illusions out to terrify them further. Calmly, he put on the mask of a madman. "Kneel before me." The crowds simply panicked further, so he made his illusions more menacing, and teleported in front of the major mass. "I said, _kneel!_ " His final statement was coupled with a magical command, and the mortals did as he said. "Is this not simpler? Is this not your natural state? It's the unspoken truth of humanity - that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power, for identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel." The words were bad, sick, _not right_.

Suddenly, an old man stood up from the crowd and (rather unsuccessfully) glared. "Not to men like you."

Loki added 'pompous ass' to his character of mad!Loki. " _There are no men like me._ "

The old man looked balefully at him and spoke angrily. "There are always men like you."

Loki snarled, and his mad self, if it were real, would've killed him by now. "Look to your elder! Let him be as an example of how I can _make_ you kneel!" Loki prepared a spell, his scepter glowing blue. He wouldn't have hurt the old man - by his age Loki could guess that he had lived through the mortal's 'World War Two'. He would have good reason to be untrustworthy.

Loki fired off his spell, and it would've worked, except a mortal jumped in front of the man and deflected it with a shield. _A Shield_. Loki had gone to escape Asgard, and now he was being reminded of their pitiful fighting style. The man in front of him was wearing a tight suit with red and white stripes, large swathes of blue, and a star in the center of his chest. A man from 'the Land of the Free'. Hypocrites.

"Ya'know, The last time I was in Germany, and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."

Loki calmly lowered the scepter towards who Barton's memories told him was Captain America. "The soldier. A man out of time." He grinned, a smarmy smirk that would've left him punching someone if it was directed at him.

"I'm not the one who's out of time." Captain America had a cocky tone in his voice, and Loki looked up when he heard a sound. Behind the Captain was a plane, with quite a large gun pointed in his direction.

A woman's voice came from the speakers on the jet. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down."

Loki simply sent a blast that would disable the gun, but the woman maneuvered the plane to dodge, and he missed. At the same time, the soldier threw his shield towards Loki, and he swatted it back. The Captain quickly ran towards Loki and punched him. Loki didn't particularly feel it. He was a god, after all. The two started brawling, which ended up with the Captain flying back. Loki stood over the form of the American Hero, scepter pointed at his head. "Kneel."

What Loki most certainly wasn't expecting was the man to jump up and roundhouse kick him. _In the face_. What an asshole. "Not today!"

Loki managed to throw the Captain off him and onto the ground. He could see the jet getting closer, but suddenly something happened that left them both stunned. Some Midgardian music was playing, with a loud background and strange, screaming lyrics. Another hero flew in, approaching in what seemed to be… a metal suit? Before Loki could do anything, the metal man ('Iron Man or Tony Stark' Barton helpfully supplied) shot him, and landed in a dramatic pose. A large assortment of weaponry folded out from Iron Man's suit. "Make your move, Reindeer Games." Loki simply allowed his armor to disappear and held his hands up. He knew when he was outgunned. "Good move."

Captain America made himself known from where he was standing next to Iron Man. "Mr. Stark."

"Captain."

* * *

Note: I have a few things to say. 1) OMG people like my writing! Literally every time I see a new comment, follow, or favorite I squeal because it is just... amazing. Thank you! 2) I had a wonderful time in Serbia and managed to get a fair bit of writing in so yay! Even if I think I may have a sinus/ear infection. so if anything seems off about my writing, I'm blaming antibiotics. 3) Finally getting into a semi-normal update schedule! I'm going to try for twice a week. 4) I love all you amazing readers.

~Ace


	4. Angsty Thor is Angsty

Hah, finally! I'm starting an online chem course, so my dream of updating twice a week is dead. Still, I'm going to try. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

Loki was quietly sitting on the plane when he heard Barton's voice in his head. _'Boss, you okay? I heard you were arrested. Need a prison break?'_

Loki laughed a bit to himself. _'No Barton, I'm exactly where I want to be.'_ Barton huffed a little about _gods and their weird habits_ while Loki just grinned. He knew that everyone on the plane thought him mad. That was good. They'd underestimate him.

Captain America was the first to break the tense silence. "I don't like it."

Stark grinned at him. "What, Rock of Ages giving up so easily?" Loki just assumed that was some sort of a Midgardian pop culture reference.

"I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallop."

"Still, you are pretty spry for an older fellow. What's your thing, pilates?" At the Captain's confused look, Loki was barely able to hold a in a snicker.

" _What?_ "

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle." Loki had already decided he liked Stark. The man was amusing for a mortal.

Captain turned to him, quite annoyed looking. "Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you." Suddenly, Loki's amusement was ended when a flash of lightning arced past, and he winced when there was a loud rumble of thunder. Stark looked from Loki to where the god was staring out the window. "What's the matter? Afraid of a little lightning?"

Loki cringed, and remembered the void. Falling. Tortue. His inadequacy compared to _Thor_. How _Thor_ was worthy of Odin's love. "I'm not particularly fond of what follows." The other two were clearly confused. Good.

There was a loud thunk of something hitting the jet. Stark put on his faceplate, and the Captain seemed to prepare himself. For what, Loki didn't know, but he assumed battle. Stark walked towards the back of the plane and opened the cargo door, even though the Captain protested. Thor landed on the open door fierce in battle regalia. Loki looked on fearfully when Thor hit Iron Man, and then strolled over to him. Thor lifted him by the neck and pulled him out the back of the plane. Rude, man. When they landed (well, Thor landed, Loki got thrown to the ground, groaning) Thor looked down and glared. "Where is the Tesseract?" His booming voice was loud (wow big surprise) as usual.

"Hah, good to see you too." Loki panted out, laughing.

" _DO I LOOK TO BE IN A GAMING MOOD?_ " Thor said in a louder-than-usual voice.

"You should thank me. With the Bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the Allfather have to use to bring you here? Your precious Earth." Thor dropped his hammer menacingly and approached. He pulled Loki up from the ground roughly.

"I thought you and Fenrir dead… _where is he?_ " Thor looked at Loki, his eyes watering.

Loki smiled maliciously. "Did you mourn?"

"We all did - our father!"

He snorted. "Your father - he did tell you my true heritage, didn't he?"

"We were raised together, we played together, we fought together! Do you remember none of that?" Thor had a spark in his eye, a familiar one. He was righteously angry.

Loki remembered all of it. "I remember a _shadow_. Living in the shade of your greatness. I remember you and Odin tossing me into an abyss - _tossing my sons!_ First Jörmungandr then Fenrir and myself! I cannot forgive that!"

Thor looked hurt, which he most certainly deserved. "So you take the world I love as repense for your imagined slights?" Thor advanced on Loki. "The Earth is under my protection."

Loki chuckled mockingly. "And you're doing a… _marvelous_ job with that. The humans slaughter each other in droves while you idly fret!" He was grinning, most likely manically, at Thor.

"And why do you think yourself above them? You miss the truth of ruling brother, the throne would suit you ill."

"I have seen things you've never even dreamed about! I have changed, through my exile. I have seen true power…"

"And who showed you it? _Who controls this would-be king?_ "

Loki once again donned his 'crazy hat'. It was funny how Thor was so ignorant as not to notice the fact that he was acting so strange. "I _am_ a king!"

"Not _here_ , you're not! Stop, Loki, and come home!" Thor looked full of emotion, drama, and eye-watering angst.

"I can't. You need the Tesseract, and I don't have it."

"Listen to me brother." That was when everything went to shit. Something red and gold streaked by and knocked Thor off the mountain they stood upon.

Loki smiled and spoke sarcastically. " _I'm listening._ "


	5. Adventures of Loki in a Lame-ass Cage

Sorry I meant to have this up sooner but Chemistry's been taking up a lot of time so instead you get an extra long chapter. Also, Loki does know Fury. But he doesn't quite realize _how_ yet. Fury knows. Because Fury knows everything.

* * *

Thor, Stark, and the Captain were all fighting. Loki had to admit, it was quite hilarious. The two Midgardians were putting up an actually impressive fight. The Captain was trying to play peacekeeper, but that was pointless with _Thor._

When they brought him in, they put Loki in a large glass cage. It would work on Thor, but the cage was nothing against an advanced user of Seiðr. Fury, the pirate from earlier, was out there. Loki couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity. "In case it's unclear, if you try to escape, you so much as try to _scratch_ that glass," The floor below him started to open, and Loki was just _slightly_ impressed. "It's 30,000 feet straight down in a steel trap. You get how that works? Ant," At this he pointed to Loki, then he gestured to the control panel. "Boot."

Loki strolled backwards. He was, admittedly, impressed. Fury reminded him of when he was young. "It is an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me."

"It's built for something a lot stronger than you."

Loki decided it was time to push some buttons. "Oh, I've heard." He turned towards the camera. "A mindless beast. Makes play he's still a man." From what Barton had told him, Loki was actually impressed with the man. But he wouldn't let the enemies know that. They weren't even Loki's real enemies. But they didn't know that. "How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"

"How _desperate_ am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You speak of peace, and yet you attack because it's fun. You have made me very desperate." Loki could admire this man's speaking skills. He also couldn't shake the feeling of _knowing_ him. "You might not be glad that you did."

"Ohhh. It burns you to have been _so close_. To have the Tesseract, to have power, _unlimited power_. And for what? A warm light for all mankind to share, and then to be reminded what _real power_ is."

Fury smiled, and not a pleasant one. "Well, you let me know if _Real Power_ wants a magazine or something." As Fury walked off, Loki tried not to laugh. An admirable enemy. Loki simply smirked towards the camera in the room.

Loki paced for a moment and tried to ignore the presence behind him. He could easily tell who it was by the sheer amount Barton spoke of her. But he played innocent anyways. That would be the best way to get more information. "There are not many who can sneak up on me." He turned, and saw his hunch was correct.

Agent Natasha Romanov stood there. "But you figured I'd come."

"After. After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate."

"I wanna know what you've done to Agent Barton."

"I'd say I've expanded his mind."

Romanov approached, getting closer to the glass. "And once you've won. Once you're king of the mountain. What happens to his mind?"

"Is this love, Agent Romanov?" Loki almost hoped so. The two would be cute together. But he wouldn't let anyone ever hear him say that.

"Love is for children. I owe him a debt."

Loki backed away from Romanov and sat down. "Tell me."

She paced for a moment before sitting. "Before I worked for SHIELD, I uh...well, I made a name for myself. I have a very specific skillset. I didn't care who I used it for, or on. I got on SHIELD's radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me, he made a different call."

"And what would you do if I made a vow to spare him?" It wasn't like Loki wouldn't spare him. But she didn't know he was bluffing.

"Not let you out."

He laughed. "Ah, no. But I like this. Your world in the balance, and you bargain for one man?"

"Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian... or was."

"What is it you want?"

"It's really not that complicated. I've got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it out."

"Can you? Can you wipe out that much red? Drakov's daughter? São Paulo? The Hospital Fire? Barton told me everything." And by everything, he included a poem musing about the red of her hair. Loki thought it was amusing that he was once young and in love like Barton. He truly missed Angrboða, killed for being part Jötunn and 'casting a dark spell on the prince'. Odin hated the thought of him being uncontrolled and in love. "Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything?" Loki suddenly stood, appearing to be angry. "This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child at prayer... PATHETIC!"

Loki thumped against the glass. "I won't touch Barton, not until I make him kill you." He could hear Barton laughing in his head about how serious he sounded. Loki shooed him out of his mind petulantly. "Slowly, intimately, in every way he knows you fear! And when he'll wake just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull! This is my bargain, you _mewling quim_!" Loki wasn't _quite_ sure what a mewling quim was, but it sounded insulting. He just hoped no one would catch his bluff. Or that they would, and this… _farce_ of a game would be over.

She turned around and started walking away. " _You're a monster_." Loki paused for a moment, remembering all the times in Asgard that he was called such. Worse, he remembered all the times his _children_ were called monsters. He tried to think of a response while simultaneously trying not to let his eyes water.

"No, you brought the monster." It was a low blow, and Loki actually felt bad about it.

She turned around. "So Banner… That's your play." It wasn't, but now that she said it, Loki thought it was a pretty good idea.

" _What_?"

She pressed an earpiece. "Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Send Thor as well." She spoke to Loki again. "Thank you for your cooperation."


	6. Dramatic Assassin Fight Intensifies

Yaaay for actually working! I just typed this whole thing out and _wow._ Hot damn.

* * *

' _So boss, what do you want me to do?'_

Loki grinned when he heard Barton's voice. ' _I met your fiery friend, Barton. I like her. Doesn't take shit from anyone.'_

From his spot in the plane, Clint smirked. ' _That's definitely Nat. We're approaching now, what should we do?'_

' _I just need a distraction. A good one, too.'_

' _You got it, boss.'_ Clint grabbed his bow and opened the back door of the jet he was in. He pulled a unique arrow out of his quiver and lined up the shot. When he let go of the string, the arrow flew true. ' _You've got a bit of time, boss. Explosive arrow. Just say when.'_

' _Wait for it… NOW BARTON!'_ At the shout in his mind, Clint pressed the button on the side of his bow. An entire chunk of the Helicarrier exploded, and Clint only hoped that there weren't any casualties.

The plane landed on top of the Helicarrier and Clint got out, followed by various troops Loki had convinced into joining. He led them to a weak spot on the Helicarrier's surface. Clint gave orders to various troops and headed down the hall they were in.

* * *

Loki heard the roar of what was known as the Hulk. Things seemed to be better than expected with the distraction. Barton was certainly effective. He smiled. If anyone had been watching the camera, they'd see wisps of green seiðr collecting around him. Then, he shimmered, and Loki watch invisibly as the clone stood there smirking. Perfect.

After a while and a bit of… Turbulence, Loki saw Thor enter the room the cell was in. He opened the cell door using magic, and made the copy of himself walk forward to exit. Thor ran forwards, as if to tackle him, but the clone just disappeared. Thor stumbled at the surprise and fell into the cage. Loki grinned and closed the door from where he actually stood at the control panel. "Are you ever _not_ going to fall for that?"

* * *

Clint was sneaking along a walkway when he felt like he was being watched. It was almost a moment too late that he noticed something was wrong. He turned and nocked an arrow, but paused for a moment when he saw Nat. She twisted his arms and lowered the bow in one move, but he recovered and swung it at her. She danced out of the way very gracefully, Clint couldn't help but notice. No time for distractions. She kicked him in the gut and he stumbled back, and she twisted underneath some piping. He went to look for her, but she twirled around and kicked him again, dancing back to avoid retaliation. He grabbed an arrow and drew back his bow. It missed, but Clint was able to get near enough to make it hand-to-hand combat. The two exchanged blows, an assassin's graceful dance.

* * *

Thor slammed his hammer against the glass of his prison. Loki laughed when it barely cracked the reinforced glass. "The humans think us immortal. Shall we test that?" He hovered his hand over the control Fury had pushed earlier. He was mostly sure Thor would live, but still. Pressing the button _would_ be rather cathartic.

Suddenly the guard Loki set up fell down. Behind him was a man that could only be described as… bland. Loki didn't like the man's plain brown hair, his boring suit, or even the tone of voice. Loki just didn't like him. "Move away, please." The man pointed the gun at Loki and started forward. "You like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent that giant wolf. Even I don't know what it does. Do you wanna find out?"

Loki stabbed the man from behind, dispelling the illusion that the agent pointed the gun at. He stepped towards the controls the clone was standing near earlier. He pushed the button, and the floor under the cage opened. Loki pressed another, and the cage dropped.

* * *

Clint and Natasha continued attacking each other. Natasha kickboxed him right in the face. Feeling that, Clint took a swing at her, but she grabbed his arm, twisting it. He briefly shouted in pain. Using his other arm, he tossed the knife over and began to cut at Natasha. She dodged every move, but they managed to get in a lock hold. When he forced the knife down, she bit his wrist, making him let go of the knife. Natasha twisted deftly and wrapped her legs around his neck, flipping him over and arm locking him. She slammed his head into a pipe rail. Clint fell down, hard. "Natasha…" She punched him across the face, hard, and he slumped, any connection with Loki severed.

* * *

Loki stepped away from where he stood at the controls, when he suddenly heard a voice. "You're going to lose…"

He turned to see the boring agent. "Am I?"

The agent smiled weakly. "It's in your nature."

Loki smiled and stepped towards the boring agent. He was surprised there wasn't any smart-ass comments from Barton, but the man was probably busy fighting. "Your heroes are scattered, your floating fortress falls from the sky… Where's my disadvantage?"

The agent smiled like he knew something Loki wasn't privy to. "You lack conviction."

Loki snarled, eyes hardening. "I lack no conviction! I would do _anything_ for my children!" Suddenly, Loki was shot by the gun he _forgot the agent had_. He was good. Loki sailed through several walls before falling to the floor.

In the other room, Coulson lifted his hand to his earpiece. "Don't be afraid to go through with Operation: Basilisk if the Avengers fail." Coulson could only hope his friend got the message. Fury was one of four people who understood. Hopefully that was enough.

* * *

Loki boarded the plane just before it lifted off, and was disappointed that Barton wasn't there. The man had been useful, and more importantly, amusing. Before these past few days Loki didn't know the last time he laughed in a non-maniacal way.

* * *

A few things. 1) I have nothing against Coulson, I swear. Loki just gets out of control when I'm writing sometimes. B) I changed up Coulson's last words for a reason. Don't know _when_ I'll reveal that reason, but I will... at some point. 3) Operation: Basilisk is a top-secret protocol for only the most dire of situations. Agents Fury, Coulson, Hill, and May are the only ones who know exactly what it is, but it is more powerful and more secretive than the Avengers or the Phase II weapons. It is also very magical. But I digress. 4) During one of the fight scenes I just copied it off the script (the movie was too fast for me to write it) so it might sound a little clunky.

~Ace


	7. The Invasion

Loki boarded the plane just before it lifted off, and was disappointed that Barton wasn't there. The man had been useful, and more importantly, amusing. Before these past few days Loki didn't know the last time he laughed in a non-maniacal way.

Well. Barton would be back with his fiery friend, at the very least. Perhaps it was for the best. Everyone who was agreeable to Loki ended up with tragedies happening to them. Be it Angrboða, his first love and fellow sorcerer, or Sigyn, his wife, or any of his children.

Clint woke up restrained. What had happened? Everything was blurry. He remembered going to the Project PEGASUS lab. Oh. Then Loki had come. The god had needed his help to… fake something. That was right, he needed to start an alien invasion. Loki had wanted to save his son. He heard someone speaking nearby. That wasn't the boss - Loki. No. It was better. Sounded like Tasha.

His throat was dry. "Nat?"

"Clint? Are you… awake?" Strange. She almost sounded vulnerable.

"Yeah."

"Strange. We expected it to take longer for your mind to heal from whatever had been controlling it." Wait. That wasn't right. Loki hadn't controlled him, at least not completely. Clint was still there.

"No…"

"No?"

"He didn't… not really. A part of me wanted to help."

Natasha's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"He- he doesn't want to control the world. He's being blackmailed."

Her eyes looked sadistically gleeful. "How?"

"Some big purple douche from beyond the stars has his kid. Until Loki does what the guy wants, his son will be tortured. I mean, Loki's supposed to be a liar and a thief. So why would he be so obvious about invading? He wanted to give Humanity a chance to fight back."

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I will report this to Director Fury." She unbuckled the harnesses on his wrists.

"I don't know…"

Of course, Captain America came in just minutes later before they managed to tell anyone.

Loki was overseeing the work atop Stark tower through Selvig. Stark appeared, and after attempting (and failing) to destroy the portal device, Stark saw him. Loki stood on Stark's balcony, and the man approached while taking off his metal suit.

"Please tell me you're going to appeal to my _humanity_."

"Uh, actually I'm planning to threaten you." At least this one was amusing, like Barton had been.

"You should have left your armor on for that."

"Yeah, it's seen a bit of mileage. And you've got the, uh, glow stick of destiny. Would you like a drink?"

"Stalling me won't change anything." Well, it would change how long Fenrir was tortured for.

"No, no, no, _threatening_. No drink? You sure? I'm having one." The man started to pour himself a drink.

"The Chitauri are coming, and nothing will change that." Loki being there made no difference other than how much pain Fenrir would go through. He was so close, and Loki couldn't let anything distract him from his son. "What have I to fear?

"The Avengers." That sounded… vaguely familiar. It would have been helpful if Barton were there. Stark seemed to take his silence as confusion. "It's what we call ourselves. 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes' type of thing."

"Yes, I've met them."

Stark smiled. "Yeah, takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one. But, let's do a head count here. Your brother, an alien with god-like powers; a super soldier, a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend; a man with _breath-taking_ anger management issues; a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them." Loki almost beamed. Midgard would surely prevail.

"That was the plan."

"Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you." Stark came from behind the bar to speak face to face.

"I have an army."

"We have a Hulk." Stark said without missing a beat.

"I thought the beast had wandered off."

"You're missing the point. There's no throne, there is no version of this, where you come out on top. _Maybe_ your army comes and _maybe_ it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the Earth, you can be damned well sure we'll avenge it."

Loki stepped forward. "How will your friends have time for me… when they're too busy fighting you?" He tapped the scepter on Stark's chest. Nothing. He tried again. Well. That was interesting. "It _should_ work."

The man gave a charismatic grin. "Well, performance issues. You know?" He muttered something similar to "One out of five…"

Loki lifted him up with green magic, and threw him down. He made sure Stark wouldn't be seriously injured. The man spoke. "JARVIS? Anytime now." Had Stark hit his head? That would be worrying, considering the man was one of the few defenses this realm had. He managed to lift himself to his feet.

Loki grabbed Stark's face. "You will all fall before me…" Suddenly he threw the man out the window. Damn. He needed to get better impulse control. If Stark died, things would be inconvenient. Loki only hoped his machinery would help. Suddenly a blur of red flew past Loki. Thank the Norns.

Iron Man appeared out the window. "And there's one other person you pissed off! His name was Phil."

Loki raised the Scepter to attack, but Stark fired first. He flew backwards. Before he could retaliate, there was a rumble and Loki could feel the magic of the portal. Thank Yggdrasil. Fenrir wouldn't be in there any longer.

A dark hole in the sky opened up. Chitauri vehicles came swarming out, filled with soldiers. The streets were shot up, and Mortals fled in fear. Loki positioned himself atop the tower so he could easily find his child. Then there was a thud.

He turned to look the same time a familiar voice shouted. "Loki! Turn off the Tesseract or I'll destroy it!"

"I can't. There is no stopping it."

"So be it." Loki jumped down at Thor, aiming to attack. He missed, and Thor swung his hammer (which Loki barely managed to block with the Scepter). He spun in a circle to try to cut Thor with the point of his weapon, but Thor ducked, and Loki managed to get him off balance and nearly hit him with magic. Thor swung Mjölnir and unfortunately hit the 'RK' off the word 'Stark'. Loki thought he saw the telltale red-and-gold of Stark's suit go by at one point, but he wasn't quite sure. He and Thor kept fighting, with one or the other almost always managing to dodge or block. The Loki saw the jet. It wouldn't do to have the mortals simply shoot him, so he shot it and managed to hit a wing. Thor seemed angrier, and started punching Loki, and their duel turned into a full-on brawl. Then there was a time-stopping roar. Loki shivered. A Leviathan.

Finally, Thor shouted to him. "Look at this! Look around you! Do you think this madness will end under your rule?"

"It's too late. I have to save him!"

"No, Loki, you don't." Loki shook his head. Thor knew nothing. He pulled out a tiny knife and stabbed Thor, who dropped his hammer

He put on a mask again. He had let that slip for a moment there. Loki spat at Thor. "Sentiment."

Thor got up and ran towards Loki, kicking him backwards. Thor managed to grab him and lift Loki above his head, before throwing him down. Loki managed to roll sideways, falling on a Chitauri transport.

He was simply waiting for the moment when his son would be out. He fired some blasts towards a crowd, none hitting.

Fenrir was falling. He had been escorted from his cell during his period of rest, and brought in front of a large portal. The soldier pointed towards it. Through the hole in space, Fenrir could see a large city, partially destroyed. Fenrir had gone closer to see better when he was pushed off the deck and into the portal. Which was very high. Fenrir imagined he made an amusing sight, a giant wolf flailing through the air. He managed to get his magic under as much control as possible, before shifting into a large eagle (his mother had taught him this, on the plains of Vanaheim). He flapped disjointedly for a few moments until he leveled out. He circled the tower below the portal for a few minutes, searching out his father. He needed to do so soon, because his energy was already leaving him.

There. His father was standing atop a transport… thing. Fenrir flew past, enough to get attention, before settling atop the large tower (which said 'STA'?) and shifting to his true form. His fur was ragged and patchy around his neck and ankles where he was bound, there were half-healed wounds all along his back, and he could see his ribs, but this was the best Fenrir had felt in a while. He was _free_. Finally, he escaped Odin, Thanos, he escaped. Fenrir swore to himself that he would never again be caged, he would not allow his freedom to be taken again.

Loki saw Fenrir fly past him, and settle on the roof of Stark's tower. He sped up and headed towards his son, who, as he approached, did not look well. Loki hurried towards Fenrir and wrapped his arms around his son's neck. Fenrir was free, again. Loki knew Fenrir must have been drained, so Loki transferred some of his own magic to his son. Fenrir looked better already.

"Thanks dad. What do we do now?" It was a good question. Loki wasn't quite sure how to close the portal, so all he could do was damage control.

"Now, we hurt the monsters that dared lay a hand on you." Loki told his son. "They always say _we're_ the monsters - and maybe we are, but we _will_ help these people." Fenrir nodded, hazel eyes bright.

The two held onto each other, and Loki teleported them down to the street, where they began fighting _real_ monsters together.

Tony was the first one to notice. He saw Loki stab a Chitauri (?) and then a giant wolf bite it and tear into it. He didn't quite know what to make of it. "Uh… Cap?"

"What?"

"Loki's a half a block from your position. He has… a giant wolf. He also appears to be killing Chitauri."

"What."

"A wolf?" Barton asked. "Of course! Fenrir! Loki's son. He was being held hostage!"

"Why didn't you find time to tell us earlier!" The Captain didn't sound angry, just disappointed. It was worse.

"Well it's not the most believable thing. Loki isn't evil, he just wants to conquer the world to save his son, the _wolf_."

"He's right, you know!" Stark chirped cheerfully, while blasting a Chitauri soldier.

Natasha sighed. "Let's just find him. He could be a valuable ally."

When Rogers and Natasha found him, he was going against two Chitauri, along with a wolf, just like Stark had said. The two worked together efficiently, killing the soldiers quickly.

Loki turned towards them. "You should lea- oh. It's you. I thought you were civilians." The wolf looked curiously at them.

"Why?"

"Why _what_? How dull are you mortals? What do my reasons for acting matter? They did not matter when I was an enemy, and now they do? Before, you never once asked why." Okay, so Loki was bitter. But he had a right to be. They were just like Asgard, assuming he was at fault without asking his side of the story.

Steve was thoughtful for a moment. "I suppose it doesn't really matter, so long as you help." Loki nodded, and he and the wolf went back to attacking.

Natasha had said she could close the portal. She just needed Loki's scepter.

"Loki!" Steve called.

"I'm busy!" Was the irritated response.

"We need your scepter to close the portal! Can you take it to Natasha?" Loki glared suspiciously.

"Very well. Fenrir, could you take this to the red haired woman?"

The wolf nodded. "Sure." Steve shouldn't have been so startled, it was magic. But still, a talking wolf was weird. Suddenly, in the wolf's place was an eagle, with dark gray feathers that matched the wolf's fur. Ever since he woke up, Steve felt like he was in Oz with nothing more than a sassy mechanical man, a skinny god, and a cowardly wolf. And his rapidly dwindling sanity, can't forget that.

When the Chitauri fell dead, Fenrir knew that the mechanical man had succeeded. But he didn't come back. The portal was almost closed when he fell back. But the man didn't stop. He kept falling, until the Big Green man caught him, which was an immense relief. Fenrir quickly dove down to see what was happening, and he shifted into a wolf when he got there. Around the metal man was Red-White-and-Blue, Big Green, his uncle Thor, and a short distance away stood his father.

He tried to look pleading (which wasn't hard), and his father approached. Loki tore the face off the robot, and touched his fingers to the man's forehead. Red-White-and-Blue didn't seem to like that.

"What are you-?"

"Silence. I seek to heal him." There was a pause for a moment. "There is something about him. I cannot. His heart has stopped."

There was a moment of silence while those around him realized what his dad had said. Then Big Green roared, and the man startled awake. Heh. Big Green was loud enough to wake the dead.

"What the hell? What just happened? _Please tell me nobody just kissed me_."

There was silence until Red-White-and-Blue spoke. "We won."

"No." Loki said. "We may have won the battle, captain. But the war has only just started."

Fenrir found the time to speak up. "Thanos wants this world. It may take years or decades, but… it'll happen."

"Well who wants to think about that? We did good _today_. Let's take tomorrow off. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."

"Now that this is all over, if it's all the same to you, I'll take that drink now."

* * *

Almost done! There's only the epilogue left.

I am so sorry about not updating more often, this summer has been difficult to say the least. My mother was in and out of a hospital three times in a month and a half (she's better now) I have had lots of band and band-related panic attacks, my depression got worse, and I've had to go to PT to help with my Juvenile Fibromyalgia. But I'm happy with has has been written. And thank you so much to everyone who has commented. You have made my day a million times better just by saying you like it or what you find bad about it. You are all amazing. Thank you.

~Ace


	8. Contentment

The entire group of of people had made their way down to the street towards the 'Shuwurma'. None of them had introduced themselves yet, and Fenrir… He couldn't ask. Well, he could, but it just… wouldn't come out. There was Red-White-and-Blue, his Uncle, his Father (who his Uncle was glaring suspiciously at), the Bow-man, Fóa (the woman with the hair (and wits) of a red fox), the Man Made of Metal, and Big Green (who was suddenly small and not green?).

When they got there, the store was shabby and battered, but miraculously still open. Fenrir stayed in the back of the group with his father. Before he went through the door, he caught sight of a sign. It had a little image of a dog, and over it was a red circle with a slash running through it. Fenrir might not be Midgardian, but the meaning seemed obvious even to him. No dogs. He pondered this for a moment, before becoming human. He was about the same height as his real form, up to his father's shoulder. His hair was dark, not quite black, but not really brown, and he had hazel eyes. In this form he could see how bad he was doing in the reflection on the glass. His face was a bit more gaunt, his frame was more jagged and sharp, and he had dark circles below his eyes.

Tony nearly swore when he sat down and next to him was a kid. He wasn't particularly good with ages, but the kid seemed to be a preteen. Or maybe a bit older. Something like that. "Who're you? What happened to the big dog?" The kid made an annoyed face.

"I am the _big wolf_." Well… still really strange. He seemed to be speaking more than before, Rogers had said the wolf had only spoken one word before. Judging by the haunted look in his eyes (so, so much like his own, after Afghanistan, _oh god_ ) the kid had gone through a lot. The silence continued.

Cap was the one who broke the silence first. "Loki, what's going to happen to you now?"

Thor and Loki spoke at the same time.

"He will return to Asgard with me."

"Fenrir will stay on Midgard along with me." There was an awkward silence. "You know they will not accept my story there. They already see me as a menace, a _monster_. They won't care _why_ I did it. They will only see it as war, by attacking a realm under their jurisdiction. I will not be seen as innocent."

Thor looked thoughtful for a moment. "They would not find you guilty if you… _Escaped_ , and I could not find you." Thor gave a large, obvious wink. Tony didn't even think Thor could attempt subtlety.

Suddenly a quiet voice spoke up. "Thank you, Uncle Thor."

Loki breathed out in what seemed to be relief. "Thank you. I wish to spend time finding, and releasing, all of Fenrir's siblings."

Fenrir looked up at that and for the first time the look on his face - a large smile - matched the look in his eyes. It was sweet, as much as Tony hated to admit it.

Bruce looked about to fall asleep into his food, but said something anyway. "So where are you two planning to stay?"

Loki looked over. "We will find something. Many years ago I had purchased a cabin in Denmark. Perhaps it is still there."

Stark gave him a disbelieving look. "Yeah? And how long ago was it, exactly? You can stay in Stark Tower. That goes for all of you, by the way. Each of the Avengers - and Loki and Fenrir - will have their own floor at Stark Tower."

The Captain was first to respond. "No thank you, Stark. I like where I am."

Natasha and Clint both shook their heads.

"I must return to Asgard with the Tesseract, but thank you for the offer, Anthony."

"Fenrir and I will graciously accept your offer of hospitality. Thank you." Loki nodded in as regal of a manner as he could (being covered in cuts and bruises was not exactly royal).

"I-I think I might stay for a quick rest." Bruce said while nervously wringing his hands.

Tony gave his best puppy dog eyes. "Come on Bruce! You'll love it!"

Bruce just smiled politely, but he said nothing.

Fenrir had stayed politely quiet when the man - Stark, he had found out by observation - led them to his tower after they had sent Thor home. The tower he had talked about was the big one (it had said STA, but now it only had A) Fenrir had first landed on.

"So for now you guys will have to stay in guest rooms, but the actual floors will be done as soon as possible. JARVIS, any time estimations for future construction?"

Suddenly, a voice came out of nowhere. It had an odd accent, closer to his father's than any other Midgardians. " _I have made estimations, and it will be a few weeks once construction is started, Sir._ "

Fenrir eyed the room (like a lounge, with a door leading outside, and a bar, no one hiding) warily. "W-who is that?"

"That's just JARVIS. He's an AI I made."

Fenrir somehow became more nervous. "What does that mean?"

"Uh. Well, I created him using a computer. He's like a person, except he doesn't have any physical body."

Fenrir nodded as though he understood. Stark continued leading them somewhere. "Okay! Bruce, that's your room for now! The one to the right of that, the Kid can take." Fenrir wrinkled his nose. Physically, he was almost 700, but he hadn't really been aware for most of it, he felt more like he was almost 200 (which meant he was technically a child, but still). Anyway, he was older than Stark! Stark continued. "And Loki, you'll be staying in the room to the far right."

Fenrir nodded and offered a hand to shake. "Thank you, Mister Stark."

The man stared for a moment. "Did you just call me _Mister Stark_? Please don't. I'm Tony."

Fenrir nodded and pulled back his hand, before escaping into the room _Tony_ offered him. He didn't even take time to explore, just shifted into his true form and curled into a ball on a soft rug, drifting off.

When Fenrir awoke, it was in the middle of the night. He was surrounded by darkness, and for a moment he almost thought he was back in that damned place. No, he could feel the plush carpet beneath his paws. Yes, he was in Mister Stark's tower.

He cleared hit throat. "Um… I don't know if you can hear me but… Jarvis?"

" _Yes?_ "

"Can you… talk to me? It's just… it makes it easier to forget."

" _Certainly. Do you have any preferences as to a last name? Your father prefers 'Friggason'._ "

"Lokason. But, um, please call me Fenrir. I just… I'm curious."

" _It is my job to assist you in anyway possible. How can I help you?_ "

"Mister Stark said he created you… would that mean he's your father? O-or mother!"

The spirit was silent for a moment. " _I… do not know._ "

Fenrir was starting to feel a heaviness in his bones. "Goodnight." If the spirit said anything back, Fenrir didn't hear it. He was finally… maybe he wasn't happy, but knowing that nearby his father and small Big Green (Mister Stark had called him Bruce) were resting, it made him feel… not quite safe, but better than he had felt in a long time.

He was… almost content, for the first time in centuries. Fenrir loved it.

* * *

So wow.

Out of everything, I have to thank my friend Tricia for actually reading everything I write before I post it and telling me if anything makes zero sense. I also have to thank all of you, for your beautiful support and love (and oh my god I really love you people (is that weird?)).

I'm speechless because honestly I thought nobody would like this (and the fact that people like this makes me so happy!) so thank you! Writing has helped me get through some hard times and your support has made everything feel great. _I can't even put it in words ;-;_

~Ace


	9. About the Sequel

So I've finally posted to the next one (Escaped). Age of Ultron will be pretty different, but I'm psyched to write it, mainly because I'm going to fix the twin's characters, they aren't going to be purely Stark-hating.

So yay! Please go check it out (if you want to, of course, it's up to you)!


End file.
